Rear right tire locked up

Long time lurker, first time poster....wanted to pass along a big thank you to forum members for passing along your, sometimes hard earned knowledge, to newbies. 2017 Taco, left rear wheel seized after launching my boat and parking the truck for the evening. Initially put the truck into four low and rocked back and forth to free up the brake with no success. I’d resigned myself to calling for a tow and a service visit until I checked in on this forum. Read all the responses and was able to break the drum free with hard pumping of the brakes and gentle rocking. Saved a huge bill in a time when my work is shuttered and zero money coming in, a huge shout out to the Taco community!!

 

Glad to hear that some forum know-how was helpful! Hopefully it doesn't happen to you again.

 

Had this happen to me just recently after going through alot of water, then not moving the car for 2 days camping. Also alot of driving near the sea coast. it was viciously stuck, had 2 four wheelers try n pull it lose along with 4lo, just dug huge ruts. lifted the whole rear end and they somehow freed right up like there was never an issue. Definately scary when you are in the middle of nowhere!

 

I just had this happen to my 2019 sr5. The right rear wheel is locked up. I tried rocking it in 2wd and 4wd, slamming the brake pedal, and pulling and releasing the e-brake a dozen times. No luck.... I did wash it two days ago, but I always take all my cars for a drive after washing them. Normally I do all my own work and have owned well over 50 cars in my lifetime. Brakes sticking after being parked when wet for days does happen, but it is not normal for a one-year-old truck with under 30k miles. I didn't bother to pull the drum off and try to free it up myself because it's still under warranty. I had it towed to the dealer, but after this and two other trips to the dealer to resolve a vibration when braking issue (that they still have not fixed) I'm done with Toyota. I'll post what the dealer says when they look at it tomorrow, but I expect more dealer B.S. In the long run, I'll either I'll trade it for something or if I keep it, I'll have to look into fixing it myself. Funny, but my wife convinced me I deserved a new car or truck when I retired, after seeing me keeping dozens of various cheap used cars on the road for her, my kids and myself.

 

The dealer says the tech found nothing wrong but then asked me who did the rear brakes. I told him that they did them to try to correct a vibration issue. I told him how they had to drag the truck onto the flatbed. It was basically all met with a shrug. I asked if they check the vibration under braking and they said "It was normal". I've owned dozens of cars and vibration under braking is not "normal". When I got it home I pulled the drums and cleaned and lubed the contact points on the rear drums and retorqued the wheels. The vibration got better, but now it's coming back. There is an obvious issue with the rear axle/brakes assembly that Toyota has not addressed yet. Hopefully, they will someday. Until then I'll live with it, but I have lost faith in Toyota as a brand.

 

Sounds like you have an inept dealer. Oh wait, that's all of them.

 

This just happened to me this morning, Washed the truck yesterday and drove it around the block, This morning the left rear tire wouldn’t budge, I pulled up on the park brake hard as I could 2-3 times and heard a pop, left rear was freed. I was on my way.

 

I just had this issue at the boat dock. auto truck. Always use E brake. Was dragging the rear pass tire and it would not come free. Backed up, pulled forward then tried 4H 4L and would not budge.
I eventually put my rear locker on and hear a LOUD bang and it came free. then 4L and locker wouldn’t come off. I turned the truck off and on and it all turned off and went into 2WD

 

2013 tacoma. Wife set break last night in wet snow. Drove this am and fetched up .sounded like something broke. in neutral right wheel spins. left moves 1/2 inch and hits firm. doesn't seem like brakes. any thoughts. broke ring gear?

 

The axles are connected through the spiders, so if one spins then other axle should too ( in the opposite direction for an open diff and the same direction for a mechanical locker or limited slip). If the other axle doesn't spin then it should spin the driveshaft.

Now if you can spin one axle and the other axle or driveshaft do not spin then something is broken. Possibly the axle itself or something in the differential.

If the one axle is spinning and the driveshaft is spinning without any crunching or resistance then the spiders and ring and pinion might be fine. I would be looking at something in the drum on the other side causing the lock up.

 

Turns out it was just the brakes were frozen. the 1/2 inch it would turn was the play in the brakes. i didn't realize it would move that much with the brakes still applied. thanks

 

It would be a good idea to remove the drum and make sure none of the hardware is damaged. The pins that hold the shoes in place are easily bent. And if the shoe isn't properly located, one of the pistons can pop out causing a massive leak and a loss of braking.

 

I have just experienced the rear passenger wheel locking yesterday. Drove through some mud puddles making some splashes and then a shallow river crossing getting to a trailhead. Once at the trailhead, was looking for a spot to park and used my e-brake before ascending a hill and the tire locked up. Drug it but a couple feet and then knew something was wrong. Was in 4Lo. Went into 2wd. Used neutral and backed down the hill and the wheel broke loose and was spinning. This happened several times in the span of 15 minutes. While I was trying to figure out what was happening.
I ended up backing up all the way down the trail to another service road and then just drove all the way home 1.5 hours with no lock-up.
I have just hit 100k miles, and have never replaced my brakes on the truck.

I’m guessing I should have the brakes replaced and the drums inspected for damage. I did hear some loud pops as others have described and it sounded bad. But I suppose that was the brake releasing itself.

I stopped along the highway several times on the way back home allowing faster traffic to pass since I was nervous about a random lock up. But no other locking occurred.

Any other suggestions? Now that the wheel isn’t locked, am I set to go? Or should I inspect anyways and see if anything is out of place?

I know 100k is a long time to replace the brakes but I live in the country and there aren’t a lot of traffic or lights and it brakes just fine coming down the mountains.

Thanks

 

Doesn’t really matter how many miles you have, I’ve had it happen on a basically brand new Tacoma and 4runner over the years. Dealership will basically act like you’re a crazy or they’ve never heard of it, but it is a known problem as this forum alone proves. Glad you got it broke loose though.

 

Yes, it sounded like a pop when it broke loose. I have been driving my truck and its fine. No more wheel lock. I haven't even taken the wheel off to inspect it

 

it's probably fine, of course a brake inspection is never a bad idea. The rear drums last a loooong time for most.

 

Ill probably have it inspected soon when I replace the fronts. Cheers